Follow My Lead, Follow Your Heart
by MegannRosemary
Summary: Post 2x04. The Carlyles take a vacation.


Follow My Lead, Follow Your Heart

_-By MegannRosemary_

* * *

This is a stand alone fic - not in the same universe as A Fire Burns in Washington. I hope you enjoy - even as I'm several episodes behind - I've missed these two!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of For the People, this is pure imagination.

* * *

One hour turned into two.

Sunscreen was reapplied, magazines were finished and silently switched, and two hours turned to three.

"I'm hot." Sandra panted like a dog.

On anyone else Kate would have found it extremely annoying but on Sandra, with her flushed cheeks under her floppy hat and the small pout of her lips, Kate found it endearing.

"Have some water."

Sandra took the offered water bottle and gulped greedily. Kate was momentarily mesmerized by the drops of water on her full upper lip before Sandra wiped them away. _Maybe the sun was getting to her?_

Sandra groaned and kicked her legs out. "Ugh, I'm still hot. Do you want to go in?"

"Inside?" _No, I'm not ready._ There was something about Sandra's presence that quieted the thoughts in her mind and settled her nerves. Kate never had the urge to organize her highlighters or straighten her post-its and stapler when Sandra was around. Unless of course, she knocked them over with her giant bag and clumsy, careless, desk hogging abilities.

"No silly, in the pool."

"I don't have a bathing suit."

"Neither do I." Sandra shrugged and stood, before flicking open the clasp of her slacks and inching the zipper down. "No one will know the difference."

Kate caught sight of navy-blue boy shorts that hugged creamy thighs before she looked away. Moments later she heard a splash. "Oh God, Sandra, don't tell me…" She turned back and sure enough, Sandra bobbed in the clear blue water, brushing damp strands of dark blonde hair back from her face.

"Come on. Get in here!"

Kate shook her head. This was reckless. Something she was not. Ever. She lined up the bottle of sunscreen and the bottle of water on the table beside her, pushing them forward so that the kissed the grooves of the table.

Soft sighs and splashes continued to come from the pool. Without looking up she closed her magazine and centred it on the lounge chair.

Sweat trickled down her back and her hair stuck to the back of her neck. "Damn it."

Kate pushed herself up before she could change her mind. At least it was Tuesday which meant she was wearing matching black underwear. She unbuttoned her blouse and folded it neatly, followed by her slacks.

She stood at the top step of the pool, the cool water lapping at her ankles.

"Aren't you going to jump?" Sandra floated over.

"I'm acclimatising to the temperature."

"Where's the fun in that?" Sandra flicked water towards her, and it rained over her calves.

"This is about cooling down." She descended to the second step. "It's purely practical."

"This is a vacation, Kate."

"Hardly." Although, admittedly, it was the closest thing she'd had to a vacation in years.

"Semantics." Sandra waved her off. "Here, I'll show you." She swam to the steps and glanced down. "Hey, am I see through?"

"I'm sure you're fine."

"I can't tell, you have to look."

Kate looked down. The lavender bra cupping Sandra's full breasts was darkened from the water but safely opaque. "Y-you're fine." Heat simmered beneath her skin, and it wasn't the sun.

She wanted to blame it on the fact that Anya had been a long time ago and she was lonely. It had to be. Sandra was her competition. Her enemy number one. She couldn't let feelings get in the way of that.

Not that there were any feelings involved. Sandra was beautiful and attractive. It was a simple fact. No emotions necessary.

Sandra started up the steps, water pouring off her curves, and Kate's mouth went dry and her blood roared in her ears so loudly that she nearly missed Sandra's next question. "Jump with me?"

"I don't…" She started to say, but then Sandra grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together and all rational thought was surrendered to the hum of awareness that spread from their joined hands to her centre.

Sandra pulled her over to the edge of the pool. "We'll go on the count of three."

"Wait, 'on three' or 'on go'. People never seem to agree on that one."

"On three," Sandra squeezed her hand, "on go is for cowards."

_God, this woman got her._ "On three it is." Kate grinned.

Sandra counted, and they jumped together. There was half a second of weightlessness before the cold water of the pool rushed up to meet her and she went under. When she bobbed to the surface, the tension of the past few days had left her shoulders and her overheated body found relief in the silky water that surrounded her.

"Good, huh?" Sandra said, treading water just inches away.

"Very refreshing." She rolled her shoulders. "I'm going to go swim a few laps now."

"Have fun." Sandra waved her off and floated on her back.

As she pulled through the water, her muscles screaming and quivering from lack of use, she repeated the words to herself. _Have fun._ No one had ever said that to her. She'd once been so focused on winning, and on the line in her university applications, to even think about having fun during swim meets.

She wouldn't go so far as to say it was fun today. But it was an enjoyable way to fill the time in a way that wasn't quite work but wasn't doing nothing. She tapped the wall and headed back but only got a few strokes before there was a giant splash and flurry of bubbles beside her.

She looked up and Sandra floated beside her, grinning. "I'm bored."

Kate splashed her. "I was swimming."

"I was lonely." Sandra flicked water back, and soon they were chasing each other from one end of the pool to the other, collecting glares from the other pool patrons.

But god, her stomach hurt from laughing and her cheeks hurt from smiling and she didn't think she'd had so much fun since the last time she'd been in court up against Sandra.

When they couldn't catch their breath, they leaned back on their elbows on the small ledge in the pool, letting their feet float up in front of them.

Sandra sighed. "I miss my Dad. I haven't seen him in months."

"Me too, not since I got this job."

"You guys are close?"

"Yes." Kate's heart clenched a little, and suddenly she longed to pick up the phone, and hear his deep voice on the other end of the line. Even though the slow and careful way he spoke drove her crazy, she missed the calming effect his penchant for talking about the weather had on her.

"What about your Mom?" Sandra asked.

"She's never been around long enough for me to miss her."

"I'm sorry that sucks." She squeezed her hand, and Kate held on much longer than she should have.

"We went to the beach a lot when I was little. My Dad and I. But then I thought it was a waste of time. Now…I wish we'd done it longer, spent more time together."

"There's still time Kate, you should take a weekend off and go."

Kate pulled her hand back and turned away from the soft emotion simmering in Sandra's blue eyes. She cleared her throat. "You just want the chance to win a case while I'm gone."

"Ha, you know I can beat you with my hands ties behind my back."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that." Kate sniffed, "but, yes, you are the only one of those fools who comes close to matching my skill and intelligence. It's exciting going against you in court."

"I feel the same way, Kate." Pale blue-green eyes met her own once more and Kate shivered beneath the intensity of the gaze. How was it that this woman saw her, really saw her, like no one else did?

"I'm starving after all that." Sandra patted her belly and broke the spell.

"We do still have the room, but we don't have the keys."

"I have an idea, just follow my lead."

* * *

With towels wrapped around their damp bodies, and their clothes shoved into their purses, Sandra led them to the check-in desk.

"Hello sir." She said, resting her forearm on the desk.

"What can I do for you ma'am?"

"Well you see, it's my wife and I's anniversary and I'm embarrassed to say that I left my key in the room." Sandra patted his hand and the floppy hat on her head bobbed she spoke. "If you could be so kind as to get us a new one, I would hate for her to be mad at me on this special day."

"Of course. Your names?"

"Kate and Sandra Carlyle. It may be under our uh…travel agent's name. Agent Pickering."

"Ah yes, there you go." He slid two keys through a black console on the desk and handed them over. "We're so pleased you've come here to celebrate your special day. If there's anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."

"A bottle of red wine would be great."

Kate jabbed her in the ribs.

"Actually, white wine would be even better."

"No problem. We'll send it up shortly." He bobbed his head.

* * *

"Kate and Sandra Carlyle!" Kate hissed once they were in the elevator.

"What, it worked didn't it?"

"That's not the point! Who says I would take your last name if we got married! I've made a career under my own name, I'm not going to be the other Carlyle."

"Kate." Sandra reached out and stilled her wildly gesturing hands. "Number one, my name isn't even Carlyle. Number two, we're not actually married." She took her hand and squeezed it, "Number three, if we did get married, I would never ask you to take my name if you didn't want to."

"Right. Of course."

"So, are you still dating Anya? I wouldn't want to step on her toes by marrying her girlfriend."

Kate's heart clenched. "How do you know about that?"

"Please, everyone knows about that." Sandra slid the key into the slot and waited for the light to turn green before pushing the door open. "Plus, she was hot. Gotta love a woman in uniform even if that uniform was just a rain jacket."

_Well she was hot…But-_ Kate hesitated on the threshold. "You…like…w-women…"

Sandra shrugged. "If the right one comes along."

Before that fact could properly sink in, Sandra dumped her bag and clothes on the bed and flopped down beside them, soggy towel and all.

_Oh no_. Heat rose on the back of her neck and her vision blurred. "Get up. Get. Up. You're all wet." Her voice cracked as she yelled, and she was thankful they weren't actually married and would have to deal with this stupidity on daily basis.

"Where should I sit then?" Sandra pouted.

"Just…take off your clothes."

"If you want to get me naked you can just ask." Sandra winked, but thankfully, finally got up off the bed.

"I'll keep this in mind." Kate flushed, and had to use an impressive amount of willpower not to imagine just that. "Put on a robe while our underwear dries. Just don't get attached and steal it."

"How do you know I would steal it?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I would." Sandra smiled smugly. "I totally do, everywhere I go. I have quite the collection at home."

They took turns in the bathroom and slipped into robes, which were surprisingly comfortable for a discount hotel.

It wasn't too long before there was a knock at the door and she pulled it open to reveal a kid with a bottle of wine and basket of glasses. "Mrs. Carlyle, the wine you ordered."

"Thank you." Kate called behind her. "Sweetheart, do you have a tip for this kind gentleman."

When Sandra sidled up beside her in a matching robe, the kid blushed, took the proffered dollar bills and scurried off down the hallway.

"Sweetheart." Sandra shuddered. "Ugh, couldn't you have picked a better nickname."

"Like what."

"I don't know Tiger," Sandra swatted at her butt, "you tell me."

"Hmmm, Tiger, I like that."

"Thought you would." Sandra lay on the bed and pulled the amenities binder towards herself. "I have a hankering for pancakes. And a burger."

"You're extremely odd Sandra." Even as she said it, Sandra wiggled with almost childlike excitement and warmth pooled in her belly at the sight.

"Don't knock it until you try it. What do you want?"

"A burger would be good."

Burgers and a complimentary desert arrived, and they dug in, with Sandra taking alternating bites of her burger and pancakes, dipping the fries into her maple syrup and her blueberries into her ketchup.

"You can use your hands Kate, I won't tell anyone." Sandra said, around a disgusting mouthful of food, "after all, what happens in Secaucus stays in Secaucus."

They finished their burgers and flipped through the channels to watch a rom-com. Kate normally thought they were stupid, but the way Sandra sighed and squeezed her thigh through the movie, gave her a new appreciation.

When the credits rolled, Sandra rested her head on Kate's shoulder and sighed. "I'm sleepy. but I don't think I can sleep. I feel so…so alive. I think we really needed this vacation."

"Is this everything you dreamed of from a vacation?" Kate asked.

"No, not quite." She paused and turned up to look at Kate in the dimly lit room. "I'd like to kiss you."

Sandra said what Kate had been dreaming of all day but was too scared to say.

"Why? Because what happens in Secaucus stays in Secaucus?"

"No," Sandra rose and tucked Kate's hair behind her ears, "because you're beautiful."

Kate knew the pool water had wreaked havoc on her normally straight hair, which was now a mess of frizzy curls. And the skin on her cheeks was sensitive like she'd acquired a mild sunburn that afternoon.

What Sandra said couldn't possibly be true.

And yet, she found herself nodding and moments later, when Sandra's lips covered her own, full and soft and tasting like wine and maple syrup, she believed it.

"Now this vacation is better than I could have ever dreamed of." Sandra whispered against her lips.

Their lips met once more, and she felt Sandra's tongue slip between her lips. She moaned, and Kate threw her reservations out the window. Even if this was a one-time thing, she wanted this. Not just for herself. But Sandra deserved pleasure and escape.

She deserved…love…

Not that they were saying anything about love.

They were compatible. In the courtroom. And evidently, in the bedroom.

Kate moved quickly, straddling Sandra, and her eyes widened in the dark. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"I'm going to make you feel amazing." Kate palmed her breasts through the thick material of her robe and Sandra arched up to meet her.

"Please." She panted. "Please do."

Kate pulled the tie of the robe open and slipped her hands beneath the soft terry cloth. Her hands roamed over soft skin, still warm, like she held sunshine within her. _God she is soft, so soft._

She helped Sandra out of her robe and pulled off her own, before kicking it to the floor. Their bodies came together, and she slipped a knee between Sandra's thigh. Her vision blurred as the soft friction of their bodies moved together.

"Don't even think about folding that." Sandra whispered against her neck before her teeth nibbled at the sensitive skin and her tongue followed, soothing the blistering arousal.

Kate didn't answer, instead she took a dusky nipple into her mouth and sucked lightly. Sandra bucked against her and she could feel Sandra's wet heat against her thigh. "God Sandra, you're so wet."

"You do this to me." She gasped.

Kate traveled down her body, that tasted faintly of salt and entirely of Sandra, to the thin strip of trimmed hair between her thighs.

She placed a kiss over her clit and Sandra whimpered. When she tasted Sandra for the first time, she felt her own pleasure build within her and she squeezed her thighs together.

This was about Sandra, she reminded herself. Kate's tongue slid though her folds, slowly at first and then meeting the frantic thrusts of Sandra's hips.

Sandra cried out, one hand tangling in Kate's hair, holding her close as the rhythm of her hips faltered, and she came beneath her tongue.

Their mouths met in hot open-mouthed kisses. Fire burned in the ocean of her eyes, and Sandra flipped Kate onto her back with surprising speed.

Sandra slipped two fingers inside her, curling slightly with every movement. Every stroke filled her completely, sending pleasure through her body like she'd never felt it before.

She came once and then again moments later, beneath the slow teasing of Sandra's tongue against her clit, her fingers still inside her.

They lay in each other's arms, skin sticky with sweat and leftover sunscreen, as their breathing returned to normal.

"What are you doing next weekend, Mrs. Carlyle?" Sandra asked, as Kate rested her head on her shoulder.

"You tell me, Mrs. Carlyle." Kate slid a hand over Sandra's naked belly, relishing the way her muscles flexed beneath her fingers and her smooth skin felt beneath her fingertips.

"I was thinking a little trip up to the Hamptons, Tiger." Sandra said as she pulled her closer, and Kate could swear she felt her kiss the top of her head.

"I think could be arranged, Sweetheart."


End file.
